Vucic: Kosovo is part of Serbia; Kurti to withdraw the troops from the north and there will be peace

Kosovo was a part of Serbia, it was very clear and it was written in the Constitution of Serbia, it was also confirmed by the UN Resolution from 1999. What the problem was, President Aleksandar Vucic said in an interview for "La Stampa".

Vucic pointed out that the Serbs living in the north of Kosovo, and in the enclaves, felt attacked by special units of the Kosovo police almost every week, and that there were reliable sources that confirmed this.

Pristina has no right to keep special police in the north. They detain, stop, and harass our people. Kurti has always said - 'We are a sovereign country, we have the right to deploy our forces where we want'. It is clear that it cannot. And, he did even more than that," Vucic pointed out.

The Serbs, he recalls, started protesting because of the illegal and illegitimate elections for the mayor, stating that there are municipalities where the mayor was elected by 11 people.

"It is not democratic to have 0.02 percent. Even the Americans and the EU condemn his behavior. But he doesn't want to hear it," Vucic underlined.

When asked what he wanted from Kurti, in order to stop the protests, he answered the following.

"To take his supposed mayors to the south and to remove his troops from the north. Then there will be true reconciliation between the Serbs and Albanians. We want it, we are ready for many compromises. On the other hand, there are those whose only goal is to expel the Serbs and show their muscles. We are calming the people down, but if it continues like this, that will not be possible."

On the statement that US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, reprimanded Pristina, Vucic said that he was very grateful to the American partners for emphasizing whose fault it was and who wanted these incidents, but also noted that we needed more.

"Pressure from the international community so that Pristina acts rationally. We are ready for dialogue. It was not easy to digest the negotiations the way they were expected in Brussels," Vucic added.

On the remark that he has already participated many times in the negotiation process with the EU, which, viewed from the outside, looks like wasted time, because mutual accusations continue, while tensions grow, Vucic clearly said that Belgrade wanted to form the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, and then it would be ready for other conversations.

Asked if he still intended to join the EU, he reminded that Serbia was on the European path.

"We are on that path and these are our values. Together with Montenegro, we are the most advanced country in the entire region. Our economy makes up 50 percent of the economy in the Western Balkans. We belong to Europe, I hope that we will progress faster in the future," the President of Serbia said.

When asked what would happen to the sanctions against Russia, which was one of the conditions, which he refused to fulfill, he reminded that Serbia had voted for four out of five UN Resolutions in line with other EU countries.

"We have no problem supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Crimea, Donbas, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson belong to it. We condemn aggression. If we are talking about the accession process, six months before the accession, we should be fully aligned with the European foreign policy," Vucic said.

When asked if this meant "no sanctions for now, but we will see later”, he answered that there were certain differences that stem from what Serbia had gone through 25 years ago."

Asked whether, since he was still buying gas at favorable prices from Moscow, he would give it up, Vucic said that Serbia was also deciding on other options.

"We are also deciding on other options, with the Bulgaria-Serbia interconnector we will take gas from Azerbaijan, and liquid natural gas from Alexandropoulos. We are doing it together with the European Community," he said.

In response to the remark that the leader of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik went to see Putin, and when asked when he had last heard from the President of Russia, he said that he had not spoken to Putin for more than a year, but that he had met with many leaders of the European Union who had visited Putin. and talked to him.

"I think it's nothing negative to talk to someone. But I don't do that because everyone would say - look at the Serbs. What they want to forbid us, they allow themselves," the President of Serbia stated.

When asked whether he considered Russia and China to be reliable allies, he answered that Serbia's partner was anyone in the world who adhered to international law.

"We are not ashamed to say that. Italy, for example, is our great friend even though it recognized Kosovo's independence. I often talk to Tajani and Meloni. China is becoming an increasingly important investor for us, as are Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. That's politics," Vucic pointed out.

When asked when the war in Ukraine would stop and whether he would sit down at the table, stating that he knew Putin well, he answered:

"Yes that is correct. I would like to see both of them, Zelenskyy and Putin, as soon as possible, sitting at the same table. That is always better than fighting a war".

He also stated that both had to find a common denominator and also the West, together with the Ukrainians.

"Concessions are necessary from both sides. Otherwise, we will have more conflicts. As soon as possible, it would be best for humanity, for the whole world. I know it is not popular, because there is a kind of ban on peace, but it is time to make an enormous political effort to achieve any kind of truce. But not with a unilateral setting of conditions," the President of Serbia says.

When asked if he feared that new conflicts could break out, for example, in the Balkans, Vucic said:

"I believe and hope not, but I am speaking about the Serbian side, not on behalf of others".